Grade 6
Students continue to review grammar, usage, sentence diagraming, and mechanics of the English language. The main texts used are John Warriner’s Holt Handbook and Write Source. Students analyze and write poetry using poetic techniques (alliteration, onomatopoeia), and figurative language (simile, metaphor,personification), collecting samples into a poetry journal. Narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive forms of writing are focused on using the six traits of effective writing. Students will learn how to use each rubric for assessment and improvement in organization, content, and sentence and paragraph development.
In grade six students identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the characteristics of different genres (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, short story, dramatic literature) and provide evidence from texts to support their understanding. Texts used include an anthology of literature, Spotlight on Literature and a trade book, Where the Red Fern Grows. Other trade books are used in Literature Circles throughout the year. Monthly book reports are required as the different genres are studied in class (e.g. mystery, historical fiction). In addition to written summaries using a story map organizer, students give oral presentations through a chosen modality to explain the book (e.g. interview of main character, timeline). Vocabulary is acquired through reading and from a basal series in which students study definitions, synonyms, antonyms, word analysis, etymology, prefixes, suffixes, and root words using them correctly in reading and writing. Dictionaries and thesauruses are used to supplement this text not only in reading, but for language arts as well.
The sixth grade mathematics curriculum emphasizes developing competency in the basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with whole numbers, decimals, and fractions. Specific topics covered within the basic operations include: estimation, compare and order, exponents, variables, order of operations, prime and composite numbers, greatest common factors, and least common multiples. A unit covering geometry includes topics such as polygons, angles, area, perimeter, circles, and circumference. Data analysis and interpretation are explored through the use of graphs and calculation of range, median, mean, and mode. Also included in the sixth grade curriculum are problem solving strategies and practice of word problems.
This year’s course focuses mainly in the field of biology. The students will explore the traditional five and more updated six-kingdom classification system including archaebactreria, eubacteria, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. Students will become familiar with the diverstiy of life on Earth and why, with the advent of new and more sophisticated technology, it is even more important to identify new species. Classes will explore and study a broad range of organisms from colonial unicellular prokaryotic monerans to multicellular eukaryotic animals through hands-on activities and the use of the new technology in the grade five and six science room. Current issues relating to the topics will also be included as a springboard for classroom discussion.
Topics covered in the course include a review of map skills and general geographic information. Major units include: The Oral History Project, in which students must interview someone of an older generation , and report to the class on what life was like when that person was sixth-grade age. This report must be 2-3 pages long, or the equivalent in a taped interview or power point. A poster is optional. Because we have new books this year, we will be having a project concerning not only Ancient Egypt, but Mesopotamia as well. Students will be able to choose from topics in these areas.
Ancient China is another area of study, which includes a celebration of he Asian Lunar New Year with an afternoon of activities and food, and a field trip to the Museum of Fine arts in Boston, with a guided tour of the Asian exhibits. When we study ancient Greece, the students dress up either as an historical figure (Socrates, Alexander the Great etc.) or a mythological figure (Zeus, Aphrodite etc.) and tell their story to the class in the first person.
Rome is also studied and includes readers’ theater – reading in parts of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar abridged for middle-grade students. Our unit on the Middle Ages includes a field trip to Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester. Attention is also paid to the history of Asia, Africa and the Americas, usually in group work or project form. Every day, as in Grade 5, we have a map time, in which map skills are developed by researching and coloring maps, including historical and special-use maps.
A major five-month project consists of work done from January to May, covering a modern country. The students may choose any country in the world except the United States. They must follow a two-page list of instructions covering information, reports to be given, maps, bibliographies, and suggestions and ideas for their own individual projects. Skills learned include source citation, bibliography writing, note taking, and primary and secondary source usage.
This course will be an overview of the Old Testament. We will follow the narrative history of the Hebrew People. We will look at the Torah, the Wisdom Books, the Prophetic Books and the Historical Books as we attempt to find God’s covenant with His people. Our course will look at how these ancient scriptures are relevant to our lives today and the connection to the New Testament. We will look at the lives of the many men and women who answered God’s call.
Students are introduced to both French and Spanish languages, each in a semester format. This semester sequence serves as an initial introduction to the Spanish and French languages. Emphasis is placed on allowing the student to feel at ease listening to, as well as conversing in Spanish. The students will be involved in a variety of activities designed to work on oral, listening, and writing skills. They will have an initial exposure to the Spanish-speaking cultures around the world. Students practice counting, give phone numbers, and do arithmetic examples. Students read paragraphs in the language and answer questions.
A comprehensive physical education program will include a well planned learning experience selected to meet the current and projected needs of the individual students. Emphasis will be further development of concepts and strategies for team sports that will involve fundamental motor skills and the demonstration of proper social skills. Lifetime fitness and activity concepts will be a component.
The class meets twice weekly. Students will be singing one day of the week and playing a pitched instrument on the second day. Students will be expected to the have courage to participate and explore music in a hands-on atmosphere. A folder will be checked as part of the student’s grade. Songs will be sung from many genres. Small group presentations for the class will be included. Connection to other disciplines will be made through for example: The periodic table of elements will be sung in Grade Five, the study of the pentatonic scale and compositions in that mode will be performed in connection with the sixth grade Asian unit. Grade six’s visit to Higgin's Armory Museum will tie into the Renaissance banquet with songs, dance, and recorder music.
This course is taught as an interdisciplinary approach with the 6th grade Social Studies curriculum. This approach enhances and deepens student learning about the ancient civilizations studied. Students explore the arts of Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, and the Middle Ages. The course includes art history lectures, discussions, and studio projects. Students will be expected to keep written notes about civilizations studied. Students will apply media, techniques, and processes in creating their own artwork. Students will identify and use the elements of design: line, shape, texture, and color. Mediums include (but are not limited to): pencil, colored pencil, pen and ink, oil or dry pastels, markers, tempera paint, watercolors, wax resist and clay. Through art history discussion and studio art projects, students will have a better understanding of art appreciation and art criticism. Students will deepen their understanding of art through a field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts taken with the social studies teacher. Studio art projects include a unit on linear perspective. Students are given home assignments at least once each marking period.
A beginner’s class that revisits knowledge learned in fifth grade. This class still introduces the students to computers assuming that they have novice computer knowledge. In this class we cover the Microsoft Office Suite, Internet evaluation and research methods, cyber bullying, technology in society, and Web 2.0 applications. There is also an emphasis on continuing to learning to keyboard properly. The sixth grade class moves through the materials at a slightly faster pace than the fifth grade program. More advanced features will be learned. These are the basic computer skills students will need to know for later in their school careers.
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| Saint Francis Xavier Preparatory School is a faith community rooted in the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. We are committed to meeting the needs of early adolescents, grades five through eight, throughout Cape Cod. We seek to provide a challenging curriculum which will prepare students for success in competitive secondary school environments. We seek to foster academic excellence and to promote harmony with self, with others, and with God in a caring environment centered on the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. |
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Email us your student's absence by using this address: absent@sfxp.org |